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Secretary Chao Marks Fifth Anniversary of DisabilityInfo.gov.

October 30th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

Last week, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao marked the fifth anniversary of the DisabilityInfo.gov Web site. Secretary Chao paid tribute to the organizations and individuals that continue to make this federal interagency portal a tremendous success.

“From its inception, our vision for the Web site DisabilityInfo.gov has been to make it an effective and widely available means of helping people with disabilities tap information they can use to make a better life for themselves and their families,” said Secretary Chao. “Five years later, DisabilityInfo.gov is an award-winning collaboration among 22 federal agencies that has reached more than seven million visitors from 180 countries.”

The event included the premiere of a DisabilityInfo.gov video providing an overview of information and resources available at the Web site. During the afternoon of Oct. 26, streaming video became available online at the site.

In addition, Secretary Chao was be joined by Maj. Daniel Gade, the White House’s associate director for domestic policy, and representatives from many federal agencies that contribute content to and support the Web site. The program featured remarks by David Eisner, Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which is DisabilityInfo.gov’s newest federal agency partner.

Three awards were presented at the ceremony on Friday, October 26, 2007. One was for “outstanding commitment and support by an individual” and two for “outstanding commitment and support by a federal agency.”

Managed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, DisabilityInfo.gov is a collaborative effort among 22 federal government agencies dedicated to making it the leading, one-stop federal source for disability-related information. The site aims to provide nearly 50 million Americans with disabilities and others with national, state and local tools on numerous subjects, including benefits, civil rights, community life, education, employment, housing, health, technology and transportation.

The ceremony was especially fitting since October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Under the leadership of its former director, Dr. Roy Grizzard, the Office of Disability Employment Programs (ODEP) made some huge strides.

ODEP partnered with employers and agencies at the state and local level to show the nation the still-untapped talents of disabled workers. It formed a key alliance with the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM), the largest society of human resource managers, with 500 chapters worldwide.

Dr. Grizzard’s directorship of ODEP was just the final achievement in a career founded on battling the odds. In his 20’s, he was struck with a degenerative retinal disorder known as retinitis pigmentosa, which left him legally blind by age 40. Despite the odds he went on to get a PhD, then became a teacher and a school administrator. From there he went on to a state agency for the disabled, and finally joined ODEP.

Dr. Grizzard is an inspirational example. Yet ODEP itself acknowledges that there is still much to do. Disabled people still face chronic underemployment in this country.

October was proclaimed National Disability Awareness month by President George W. Bush. The month is a time to stress the need to improve employment prospects for those with disabilities, and to guarantee workplace diversity.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 was the turning point. The legislation made it against the law to discriminate against workers because of disabilities. It applies to hiring, promotion, and training. The ADA is also designed to insure that job sites themselves are accessible to disabled employees.

In 2001 the New Freedom Initiative was designed to urge full participation by the disabled in all areas, among them education and employment. The “Ticket to Work” program help assure access to job placement and training for the disabled.

Dave Dravecky, the former Giants pitcher, is the first recipient of the ODEP SPIRIT Award, honoring those who have fought the odds to achieve success despite disabilities. After Dravecky lost his pitching arm to bone cancer, he went on to become a best-selling writer and a motivational speaker.